Niko Kapanen
| Niko Kapanen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
29 April 1978 Hattula, Finland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
HPK TPS Dallas Stars EV Zug Atlanta Thrashers Phoenix Coyotes Ak Bars Kazan HC Lev Praha Jokerit | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
173rd overall, 1998 Dallas Stars | ||
| Playing career | 1996–present | ||
Niko Klaus Petteri Kapanen (born 29 April 1978) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre, currently playing for HPK of the Finnish Liiga.
Playing career
Kapanen was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 6th round as the 173rd overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. During the 2005–06 season, Kapanen recorded a career high in goals (14) and points (35). He scored his first career hat-trick on February 9, 2006 against the Phoenix Coyotes in a 5–1 victory.[1]
On June 24, 2006, Kapanen was traded by the Stars to the Atlanta Thrashers, along with 7th round draft pick in 2006, for defenceman Jaroslav Modrý and centerman Patrik Štefan. During his first season with the Thrashers, Kapanen was picked up off the waiver list by the Phoenix Coyotes.[2]
On June 9, 2008, Kapanen left the NHL and signed for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League.[3]
After five seasons with Ak Bars, Kapanen left as a free agent to sign a multi-year contract with Czech club HC Lev Praha of the KHL on August 11, 2013.[4] Hampered by injury, Kapanen had a less than successful regular 2013–14 season with Praha, but redeemed himself in playoffs to post 11 points in 21 games as Lev reached the Gagarin Cup finals.
Kapanen association with Lev was ended after one-year upon the club announcing financial bankruptcy. On July 10, 2014, Kapanen signed a one-year contract with new Finnish KHL entrant, Jokerit.[5]
International play
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Kapanen had a highly decorated international career with Finland in collecting a medal at every level played. He made his debut as a junior in the 1997 World Junior Championships, claiming a gold medal at the following junior Championships in 1998. At the senior men's level Kapanen competed in 9 World Championships in capturing 5 medals, including a gold at the 2011 World Championships. He twice represented Finland at the Winter Olympics claiming a Silver and Bronze at the 2006 and 2010 tournaments respectively.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | HPK | SM-liiga | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | HPK | SM-liiga | 41 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | HPK | SM-liiga | 48 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | HPK | SM-liiga | 53 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 49 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | HPK | SM-liiga | 53 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | TPS | SM-liiga | 56 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Utah Grizzlies | AHL | 59 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 55 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 67 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | EV Zug | NLA | 44 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 35 | ||
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 81 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2006–07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 60 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 79 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 53 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 22 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 54 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 44 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 53 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 2011–12 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 54 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL | 50 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Lev Praha | KHL | 22 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 21 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 29 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Litoměřice | CZE.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Jokerit | KHL | 60 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Jokerit | KHL | 53 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 397 | 36 | 90 | 126 | 160 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 22 | ||||
| KHL totals | 399 | 81 | 153 | 234 | 247 | 111 | 20 | 44 | 64 | 75 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Finland Jr. | WJC | 5th | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1998 | Finland Jr. | WJC |  |
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Finland | WC |  |
9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2001 | Finland | WC |  |
9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2002 | Finland | WC | 4th | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | |
| 2004 | Finland | WC | 6th | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | |
| 2004 | Finland | WCH | |
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Finland | WC | 7th | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | |
| 2006 | Finland | OG | |
8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Finland | WC | |
9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | |
| 2008 | Finland | WC | |
9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WC | 5th | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Finland | OG | |
6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | Finland | WC | |
9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WC | 4th | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 105 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 56 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| NHL YoungStars Game | 2003 | |
| KHL | ||
| Gagarin Cup (Ak Bars Kazan) | 2009, 2010 | |
References
- ↑ "Kapanen scores first Hat-trick". ESPN. 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
- ↑ "Thrashers lose Kapanen". Atlanta Thrashers. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ↑ "Kapanen sign with Ak Bars Kazan". Ak Bars Kazan. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ↑ "Collector of international medals, Kapanen comes to Prague" (in Czech). HC Lev Praha. 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ↑ "Niko Kapanen agreement" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
External links
- Niko Kapanen at Hockey News
- Niko Kapanen on nhlfinns.com
- Niko Kapanen's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database